


Homecoming

by xRedEmpress



Category: Joker Game (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Don't you love sappy love stories with dogs?, M/M, One Shot, Sorry for the OOCness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 13:58:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7576564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xRedEmpress/pseuds/xRedEmpress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been three years since Sakuma was sent to the front lines. It's also been three years since he left his lover Miyoshi and their dog Maki.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short drabble. AU where they aren't spies and Sakuma joins the army, leaving Miyoshi behind.  
> I haven't been writing in a long time, and honestly it isn't my forte but I just wanted to write something to let out all my feelings.  
> This is dedicated to my friend Kellie who inspires me to write more stories and also to my Joker Game buddies on twitter ~ <3

 

_"I won't allow it," Miyoshi argues as he wrapped his arms around Sakuma from behind, "I won't let you go."_

 

_"I have to," Those words were like daggers to Miyoshi, piercing his heart deep, "It's Lieutenant Colonel Mutou's orders. I won't be gone long, I promise."_

 

_"Promise is a really big word, Sakuma."_

 

_"I know."_

 

_"You'll have to shave your hair off, you'll be ugly you know."_

 

_"I know. It'll grow back by the time I return."_

 

_"It better, I won't let you in the house if you're still bald."_

 

_Sakuma chuckled at Miyoshi's threat, it was cute how he was trying to lighten up the mood, it made everything seem more worthwhile. His lover was being extremely cute at the moment that he couldn't resist the urge to kiss him, "Miyoshi," he spoke softly as he turned to face Miyoshi and gently placed his fingers  on his chin._

 

_Knowing what was about to happen next, Miyoshi slowly closed his eyes._

 

_LIIIIIIIIIIICK_

 

_"Fu fu fu ~ Sakuma you're so aggressive, licking my lips all of a sudden."_

 

_LIIIIIIIIIIICK_

 

_"W-wait Sakuma why are you licking my entire face??"_

 

_LIIIIIIIIIIICK_

 

_"STOP IT, SAKUMA------"_

 

"SAKUMA!!" Miyoshi's eyes shot open and he was greeted by blue eyes, but they weren't Sakuma's. Annoyed, he gently pushed the vermin away, "Maki you idiot! I told you not to wake me up like that!"

 

Miyoshi sat up and touched his now sticky face, "You licking my face will ruin my skin!" he scolded. Maki, their fully-grown black and white Siberian Husky, looked at his owner with an apologetic look on his face.

"Don't look at me like that. Those stupid puppy dog eyes don't work on me anymore."

 

He lied. They still work on him. It's because the dog's expression reminded him so much of Sakuma when he tries to apologize to him for doing something wrong.

 

"Fine fine. I get it. Now get off the bed or you'll get your fur all over it," Maki's expression went from downcast to excited the moment Miyoshi accepted his 'apology'.

Miyoshi grabbed a face towel from the nearby drawer to wipe Maki's saliva off his skin. He then walks towards his desk and grabs one of the picture frames on display, he lifts it up towards his lips and kisses it gently, "Good morning, Sakuma."

 

 

**It's been three years since Sakuma was sent to the front lines. It's also been three years since he left his lover Miyoshi and their dog Maki.**

 

* * *

 

"Good morning, Miyoshi!" greeted an old lady as she saw Miyoshi pass by, "Good morning to you as well, Maki!" she added, Maki barked as a response.

 

"Good morning." Miyoshi replies as he flashed the old lady with a gentle smile, she sells vegetables in a small stall near their house. It amazed him how these people could still be so cheerful despite the ongoing war. It wasn't as bad as before, where they would usually hear gunshots and screaming outside their doors, it was actually a bit more peaceful now, but it didn't stop the fact that they were still at war. If they weren't, capable men all over the country would have been back by now... including Sakuma.

 

As Miyoshi and Maki arrived at a small yet elegant looking flower shop, they were greeted by Jitsui who just finished turning the store sign from 'closed' to 'open', "Ah, Miyoshi. Good morning! Good morning to you as well Maki ~"

 

"Don't greet him so happily, I have yet to think of a suitable punishment for him for what he did to my face earlier."

 

"Did he lick you again? Don't worry, dogs lick their owners to show their affection, or at least that's what MY dog does."

 

"Jitsui, you don't have a---" he cut his own sentence right there. One, he didn't want to say anything further and two, Jitsui was already smirking at him, wearing his usual sadistic angel face.

 

_'May the gods bless Gamou for putting up with this guy,'_ Miyoshi thought.

 

Miyoshi works as the store manager in a flower shop, owned by Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki, known as ' _D-Flower Shop_ '. Conveniently located beside it is a coffee shop, also owned by Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki, known as ' _D-Coffee Shop_ '.

Yes, whoever was coming up with these silly names needs to be severely punished.

 

Miyoshi often works with Jitsui in the flower shop, Tazaki was there frequently too when Lt. Col. Yuuki doesn't assign him as a waiter in the coffee shop. Today was surprisingly different though, they were expecting Tazaki to help them out in the store but instead, it was Hatano who entered the doors.

 

"And? Why are you here? Where's Tazaki?" asked Miyoshi as he was arranging flowers for a client.

 

"He's on duty in the coffee shop along with Amari. I wanted to help Fukumoto and Odagiri in the kitchen but the old man told me to help out here instead," Hatano clicked his tongue and did his usual thing of putting his arms behind his head.

 

"And Kaminaga?"

 

"Off reeling in customers."

 

"How?"

 

Hatano pointed his thumb towards the window, implying that Miyoshi and Jitsui should just take a peek outside to see what was going on themselves, and so they did. What they saw was Kaminaga, in his waiter attire, awkwardly holding a signboard, trying to reel in customers. He was effective with the women, not so much with the men, although they saw a man with a lightbulb-shaped head approach him, looking quite interested, whether he was interested in the shop or in Kaminaga is a whole other story neither of them wanted to know.

 

"I figured it'd be better to help out here than do Kaminaga's stupid job. So? What can I do?"

 

Miyoshi walked over to the counter and added the finishing touches to the bouquet and handed them to Hatano, "These are for delivery. Here's the address," he handed him a small piece of paper, "Take Maki with you, for safety."

 

"Are you doubting my skills? And besides, I'm a cat person."

 

Jitsui chuckled, "I know for a fact that you are capable of handling yourself, Hatano. But take Maki with you, he'll keep you company ~"

 

Hatano couldn't retort to that, he has always had a soft spot for Jitsui, they were best friends after all, "Fine. Oi furball, come with me."

 

Maki complied and happily followed Hatano, the dog was close friends with everyone in the shops.

 

After Hatano had left, Jitsui looked over at Miyoshi who had a smug look on his face, "The client... wasn't it that French guy who took a liking to Hatano when he served him in the coffee shop? Alain Lernier, I believe?"

 

"Yes. Alain even asked for Hatano's name and he gave him a fake name. Hatano has been trying to avoid him ever since, simply because the latter had already fallen for him."

 

"You knew that so you asked Hatano to deliver those flowers. You really are a mean person aren't you?"

 

Miyoshi smirked, obviously proud of his accomplishment, Jitsui heard him say 'fu fu fu~' on his way back to the counter.

 

"By the way, I noticed that Maki has been more reliable lately."

 

Miyoshi was making a fresh new batch of flower arrangements, it being the reason for him not being able to look at Jitsui, but he responded "Hm? How so?"

 

"Well he's really good at deliveries. He helps out both here and in the coffee shop. You and Sakuma really trained him well."

 

"It wasn't me"

 

"Hm?"

 

"I didn't train him. Sakuma did. He's closer to Sakuma than he is with me."

 

As Miyoshi slowly put white lilies on the flower arrangement, he suddenly remembered that snowy day. The day when they first saw Maki.

 

* * *

 

_It was a couple of years back, Miyoshi and Sakuma had just started living together. As they were heading back to their house, Sakuma asked Miyoshi something really unexpected, "Do you want to have a kid?"_

 

_Miyoshi, whose arm was wrapped around Sakuma's, suddenly let go and took a step back, "Excuse me?", Either Sakuma had forgotten that he was a man or the cold weather was finally getting the best of him._

 

_"Ah wait I wasn't being specific. I meant, would you like to adopt a kid?"_

 

_"No. I hate kids." Miyoshi answered immediately._

 

_"But you're good at handling Emma!"_

 

_"Just Emma. I play with her, yes, but that's pretty much it. I can't exactly imagine myself taking care of a child."_

 

_"Then what about a cat?"_

 

_"I despise cats."_

 

_Sakuma felt a sweat drip down his face despite the cold weather, was his boyfriend always this picky? Yes._

 

_"What's with you asking me these questions all of a sudden? Could it be that you have grown bored of me?" Miyoshi had a very displeased look on his face, Sakuma wanted to fix that so he moved closer and took his lover's hands, "It's not like that."_

 

_"Then what is it?"_

 

_"It's just that we've been together for a while now and I know for a fact that you are the one. I just wanted to see if you wanted to start a family with me."_

 

_Miyoshi felt his face heat up at Sakuma's words._

 

_"I know it's impossible for two men to have a child so I asked if you wanted to adopt a kid or a cat, anything to make it feel like we're a family."_

 

_Miyoshi cupped Sakuma's face with his hands, "We don't need anything like that. You and I are already a family."_

 

_Sakuma chuckled and gave in, his eyes locking in on Miyoshi's as they both leaned closer to each other, slowly closing the gap in between their lip-----_

 

_BARK BARK!_

 

_"??!!"_

 

_BARK BARK!_

 

_Sakuma immediately broke away from the romantic moment and ran towards a nearby lamp post where a puppy was hiding, "Miyoshi! It's a dog! A dog! Look!"_

 

_"And?" Miyoshi was obviously pissed, he broke away from their almost kiss for a mongrel, although it died down a bit after seeing his lover all excited._

 

_"He's a Siberian husky!"_

 

_"What would a foreign dog such as a Siberian Husky be doing in Japan?"_

 

_"Maybe he was abandoned by one of the foreigners."_

 

_"Then his owner will return for him. Come now, let's go, it's getting cold."_

 

_"But he'll die out here."_

 

_"That's not our problem."_

 

_"But... Miyoshi..."_

 

_Miyoshi turned to look at his lover only to find him holding the puppy up beside his face, both of them wearing the same stupid sad expression, something which Miyoshi couldn't resist. And after hearing what Sakuma had said about wanting to start a family with him, he couldn't help but give in to what he wants._

 

_"Fine. But I'm not taking care of him. He's your responsibility."_

 

_Sakuma happily carried the puppy and embraced his lover as a thank you, the puppy licking Miyoshi's face to show his gratitude as well, but Miyoshi didn't seem to like it, "Ack. Don't lick me," he groaned._

 

_"He likes you," Sakuma pointed out, "We should name him after you."_

 

_"Why me?"_

 

_"Maki. We'll call him Maki!"_

 

_"Why Maki?"_

 

_"Well it starts with an M, same as with the one I love the most."_

 

_Miyoshi wanted to argue but he'd rather not, Sakuma was too happy with adopting the puppy, and he loved seeing Sakuma smile, "Fine but if you pay more attention to him than to me then I'm kicking him out."_

 

* * *

 

It was already sundown and Jitsui and Miyoshi were packing up when Hatano burst through the doors, Maki following right behind him.

 

"MIYOSHI YOU BASTARD!!"

 

"Oh so you finally figured it out."

 

"I ALREADY HAD A HINT WHEN I SAW JEAN AND MARIE PASS BY ON THE WAY THERE! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT WAS TO LEAVE FROM ALAIN'S HOUSE??"

 

"That's because he likes you and you're aware of it. Why not just give in?"

 

"Why you---" Hatano was all ready to go at Miyoshi when Fukumoto stopped him, "No fighting."

 

"Violence is bad," Odagiri added.

 

"You two are such parents," Hatano huffed, he decided to let Miyoshi live another day, "By the way, Maki barked at a mailman earlier."

 

"He always does that," Miyoshi answers, "He's still..."

 

"Waiting for letters?"

 

Kaminaga appeared out of nowhere. What he said brought silence to the entire area as Fukumoto, Odagiri, Hatano and Jitsui's eyes glanced over at Miyoshi, obviously what Kaminaga said was said at the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

"AHAHA What a day right? Come along now," said Amari as he passed by along with Tazaki, obviously just trying to lighten up the mood. The others bid each other goodbye and left as well. Gamou arrived a few minutes later to pick up Jitsui. Miyoshi bid him farewell as he left with Maki.

 

* * *

 

On their way back, Miyoshi and Maki walked past the mailbox. Maki barked to call Miyoshi's attention, "What is it? You want me to check the mailbox?"

 

Maki barked, obviously saying yes.

 

"Whatever. Don't blame me when you get disappointed," And so Miyoshi did open the mailbox but as usual, it was empty. Just like how it has been for a year.

 

When was the last time Miyoshi received a letter from Sakuma? Around a year and a half ago?

 

During the first year of Sakuma leaving for the army, Miyoshi would receive letters once a month. Sakuma would share stories about how different it felt when he shaved his hair off and how his army buddies would tease him about Miyoshi's picture in Sakuma's wallet. It was a different story every time and Miyoshi loved reading all about it, as much as he loved sharing to Sakuma the things that have happened to him (and Maki since Sakuma always asks how he is).

 

But the letters slowly declined by the first half of the second year and by the last 6 months, the letters had completely stopped arriving. That was around the time Odagiri had come back from the army. Miyoshi asked Odagiri how Sakuma was and the latter assured him that he was okay, and they were just too busy and couldn't find time to write and or send out letters.

 

It puzzled him as to why Odagiri came back earlier but he was glad to know that Sakuma was okay and he was also glad to see Fukumoto smile once again, having reunited with his beloved Odagiri.

 

But why hasn't Sakuma returned? He had received no letters for the past year and there were no news of them either. He was just clinging onto Odagiri's statement a long time ago that Sakuma was alright. But words were not enough to fill the gaping hole in Miyoshi's chest. He was anxious, worried and scared, these were feelings he had to bear with for the past few years, they have only grown over time and it hurt Miyoshi badly.

 

Maki was staring at his owner who was lying down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, moments later he ran off somewhere.

 

_BARK BARK!_

 

"Shut up, Maki."

 

_BARK BARK!_

 

"Maki."

 

_BARK BARK!_

 

"Maki what---"

 

He sat up to scold Maki but was silenced at what he saw. Maki was holding in his mouth Sakuma's shirt, he walked over and placed the shirt on Miyoshi's lap and barked.

Miyoshi was on the verge of crying but he was able to stop it, instead he smiled and placed a hand on Maki's head, petting him.

 

"Yeah. I miss him too."

 

* * *

 

"Miyoshi, could you take these flowers to the kitchen of the coffee shop while I lock up? Fukumoto said the flowers in the vase there were withering and it looked depressing," asked Jitsui.

 

"Okay." Miyoshi replied as he went to the back door of the coffee shop. As he was about to open the door to the kitchen, he overheard Fukumoto and Odagiri talking.

 

"Have you been able to contact any of them?"

 

"No I have not. I went to the office the other day and there were still no news about Sakuma's unit."

 

"It's been a year."

 

Odagiri fell silent for a while after that, Fukumoto broke the silence by asking another question.

 

"But you said when you came back that Sakuma was alright. So he's probably doing okay right?"

 

"I lied."

 

"What?"

 

"I was assigned to a different area in my third month. The truth is that I had no clue how Sakuma was doing. All I knew was that he got re-assigned as well and was sent to a place where an immense exchange of gunfire was happening."

 

Miyoshi entered the kitchen right after what Odagiri had said, "Miyoshi," he muttered, "How long have you been there?"

 

"Long enough to hear the truth."

 

"Miyoshi, I'm sorry."

 

"It's fine. My heart is not made of glass. I can at least handle things like these. Rather, I'm thankful you told the truth. Now I can stop waiting for someone who will never come back," Miyoshi handed the flowers to Fukumoto and left.

 

* * *

 

It took a while for Miyoshi to process everything. That night, he found himself doing unnecessary paperwork for the shop to get his mind off of what he had found out today. That was his plan but he just couldn't do it. He buried his face in his arms as he rested them on his desk.

 

_BARK BARK!_

 

"Shut up, Maki."

 

_BARK BARK!_

 

"Maki, Shut up."

 

_BARK BARK!_

 

"I SAID SHUT UP!!"

 

In a fit of rage, Miyoshi swept all the papers off of his table and stood up.

 

"STOP IT ALREADY!! NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU TRY AND COMFORT ME OR BRING ME SAKUMA'S STUFF OR BEG ME TO GO TO THE POST OFFICE OR THE MAILBOX, SAKUMA ISN'T GOING TO COME BACK! STOP CLINGING ONTO SOMETHING THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN! JUST STOP IT!! " Miyoshi huffed as he saw the dog whimper in fear, he sat down and buried his face in his hands, "Please.. just stop it," he pleaded more calmly this time.

 

Minutes later he heard Maki scatter off, along with the sound of the door opening, "Maki?!"

 

He originally wasn't going to chase him but then he heard thunder, Maki hated hearing the thunder, and if it starts raining hard who knows what will happen to him.

 

Miyoshi ran after Maki, who was running towards the main road.

 

The rain started pouring down and thunder followed right after which stunned Maki in horror, what's worse was that a huge truck was approaching. The pouring rain made it almost impossible to see what was on the road. "MAKI, RUN!" Miyoshi ordered as he was trying to catch up but the thunder scared Maki so much that he couldn't move a muscle.

 

The truck was moving quicker. He had to catch up, he just had to. He already lost Sakuma, he couldn't lose Maki as well. Without thinking, without hesitation, he dove right in and  tackled Maki, both of them ending up on the other side of the road, both of them safe but a bit injured.

 

"ARE YOU STUPID?!" Miyoshi scolded as if Maki could understand.

 

He held him tightly in his arms, all the pent up anger, pain, loneliness and sadness finally overflowing as he started crying, luckily the rain was enough to mask his pool of tears.

 

"I ALREADY LOST SAKUMA! I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO!" He cupped the dog's face in his hands, he ended up looking at Maki's blue eyes that looked just as pained as his.

 

"You're the only one I have left. Please... don't leave me." Right there, he swore he heard Maki cry. Of course he would. Maki loved Sakuma as well, just as Miyoshi had loved him.

 

"I'm sorry. I miss him too. I miss him so bad that my heart breaks a little every day whenever I wake up and he's not there by my side. But you're here. The reason why you're here is because he knew didn't he? Sakuma knew that you would be the one to take care of me in his place."

 

Miyoshi leaned his forehead against Maki's, "I'm sorry. I promise to take better care of you, but you have to do the same too okay? I'm sure it's what Sakuma would have wanted."

 

Maki barked and pounced on Miyoshi, licking his face all over to show his affection. The two reconciled and decided to start over, the right way this time.

 

* * *

 

Miyoshi woke up early the next day to prepare breakfast for him and Maki, sure he wasn't a great cook but he cooks decent enough for him and Maki to not get a stomach ache. "Maki! Breakfast!" he called out but there was no response, "Hm. Maybe he's out taking a dump," he concluded as he started eating.

 

Miyoshi had already finished his morning routines yet Maki was still nowhere to be found, he went outside the house to look for him and even asked the neighbors but it seems nobody has seen him, that's when he started to get worried, he rushed to the shop to get help, luckily neither the flower shop nor the coffee shop was open yet.

 

"EVERYONE! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME! MAKI'S MISSING!"

 

"Miyoshi, calm down, when was the last time you saw him?" asked Fukumoto.

 

"He was with me last night. When I woke up he wasn't there anymore. I thought he was just out taking a dump but he never came back."

 

"We should split up, it'll make it faster to cover all possible grounds," declared Amari.

 

Amari took Kaminaga and Tazaki with him. Jitsui was with Hatano while Fukumoto was with Odagiri. They ran all over town, looking at every possible place Maki could be in and asked anyone if they've seen a Husky anywhere. Maki's breed itself was rare to see around that time so it would have made it easier for people to notice his presence but in the end no one seemed to have found him.

 

They all reported back to the coffee shop. It was almost sunset and they still haven't found Maki. Miyoshi wanted to keep looking and was about to leave when someone stopped him.

 

"Miyoshi."

 

It was Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki.

 

Everyone was shocked, it was rare to see Lt. Col. Yuuki outside his office to meet with them all.

 

"Sir," Miyoshi stopped to pay his respect to their boss.

 

"Dogs can sense what their owner is feeling."

 

"Sir?"

 

"They know when their owner is happy or when he's sad, that's why they try to act accordingly. They are not humans. But they, too, have emotions. And they too have memories. They remember events and places important to both them and to their owners."

 

Miyoshi, and everyone, was confused as to what the Lt. Col. had said, but that's when it hit him.

 

"I know where he is.." Miyoshi mumbled as he turned and ran off.

 

Lt. Col. Yuuki smiled, which made everyone think that he either knew all along where Maki was or he knew something more that he didn't want to tell anyone.

 

* * *

 

_Events that were important to them._

_Places that were important to them._

_To both of them._

 

How could he not realize it sooner?

 

Miyoshi knew where Maki was. There was only one place possible.

 

Miyoshi ran towards an almost forgotten road, the road he and Sakuma had taken years ago, the road where he and Sakuma had found Maki.

And just as he thought, Maki was there, under the lamp post where Sakuma had found him.

 

"Maki!" Miyoshi yelled out as he embraced the dog, "Why did you run off like that?! You got everyone worried!"

 

Maki barked and licked Miyoshi's cheek, it was enough to assure Miyoshi that Maki was alright. He stood up and called out to Maki.

 

"Let's go home."

 

Miyoshi walked a few steps but noticed that Maki wasn't following him, rather he was staring at the edge of the road in the horizon, "Maki, what's wrong? Don't you want to go back?" Maki looked at Miyoshi then looked back at the horizon.

 

Miyoshi was confused, but then Maki started barking, which scared Miyoshi a bit. Maki has never barked this much before. The only time he did was when...

 

_Impossible._

 

Miyoshi looked at the direction Maki was staring and barking at. A figure appeared in the horizon and was walking towards them, as the figure came closer and closer, Miyoshi found himself unable to move.

 

He swore right then and there, time had stopped and he was no longer sure what was happening.

 

All he knew was that Maki was looking at him and that there was a waterfall of tears streaming down his face.

 

 

 

 

 

They say good things happen to those who wait.

It was the first time that Miyoshi believed such a thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**"Miyoshi, I'm home."**

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching "dogs reuniting with their owners" videos and this story came into my mind.  
> I just loved the idea of reuniting after such a long time.  
> I apologize for the OOC-ness of the characters. I also apologize for the crappy way of writing but I do hope you enjoyed the story!  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
